The ‘stranded in space’ saga is still in full swing for NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams – with it being set to continue until 2025 – but things got a bit precarious over the last weekend.
Although the pair remain ‘confident’ that they will eventually make a safe return to Earth, they were probably a bit panicked when they suddenly started hearing ‘strange’ noises on Saturday (31 August).
Despite initially being stumped by the cause of the mysterious sounds, NASA have now confirmed exactly what they were. And although a ton of social media users had ‘space ghosts’ down as the prime suspects, they were sadly mistaken.
For those who don’t know, American test-pilots Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, set off for what was supposed to be a short trip up to the International Space Station (ISS) back on 5 June, and were set to return later the same month.
But technical issues have plagued the new Boeing Starliner capsule they were sent up into space on, with thruster failures and helium leaks forcing their return to Earth to be drastically delayed.
The duo need an alternative mode of transport to get them home, and it seems that cadging a lift on SpaceX Crew-9’s return flight in February 2025 is looking like the best bet.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, Steve Stich, said of the situation: “We have been working with SpaceX to ensure they are ready to respond with Crew-9 as a contingency.
“We have not formally committed to this path, but we wanted to ensure we had all that flexibility in place.”
The astronauts were left alarmed after hearing a strange sound over the weekend (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP)
On Friday (6 September), the Starliner is set to undock from the ISS and make a solo journey back to Earth without anyone on board, while Wilmore and Williams will have to stay up there for at least another six months.
Talk about copping the sh*tty end of the stick, eh?
Well, things got even more worrying for the NASA astronauts on Saturday when Wilmore contacted Houston’s Johnson Space Center to share his concerns after hearing a ‘strange noise coming through the speaker’.
Mission control confirmed that they could also hear a sound which was ‘kind of like a pulsating noise, almost like a sonar ping’ and that they would get back to the astronauts after investigating further.
Although Wilmore and Williams kept their cool, the rest of the world was sent into a frenzy of concern about the stranded pair – and even former astronauts, such as former Canadian spaceman Chris Hadfield, weren’t immune to it.
The former ISS commander wrote in a post on X: “There are several noises I’d prefer not to hear inside my spaceship, including this one that Starliner is now making.”
The Starliner is set to return to Earth solo this week (Paul Hennessy/Anadolu via Getty Images)
But thankfully, we can all now cool our jets as NASA revealed that the source of the bizarre sound has been identified.
In a statement, a NASA spokesperson explained: “A pulsing sound from a speaker in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft heard by NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore aboard the International Space Station has stopped.
“The feedback from the speaker was the result of an audio configuration between the space station and Starliner.
“The space station audio system is complex, allowing multiple spacecraft and modules to be interconnected, and it is common to experience noise and feedback.
“The crew is asked to contact mission control when they hear sounds originating in the comm system. The speaker feedback Wilmore reported has no technical impact to the crew, Starliner, or station operations, including Starliner’s uncrewed undocking from the station no earlier than Friday, Sept. 6.”
Hang on – what’s that strange sound I hear now?
Ah, it must be the whole world breathing a huge sigh of relief that Wilmore and Williams live to fight another day.
Featured Image Credit: NASA via Getty Images
Topics: NASA, Science, Space, US News, Weird, Viral
